After Khabib
Nurmagomedov retired, Justin
Gaethje wasn’t pleased with the direction the UFC took with the
lightweight division.
In recent months, the former World Series of Fighting champion has
voiced his displeasure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. That
frustration reached its peak when Charles
Oliveira and Michael
Chandler were booked to fight for the vacant 155-pound belt at
UFC 262 this past May. That was in part because Dustin
Poirier elected to pursue a lucrative trilogy bout against
Conor
McGregor, but Gaethje, who was coming off a defeat to
Nurmagomedov at UFC 254, was left out of the title picture
entirely.
In a recent interview with
ESPN, Gaethje says he has mended fences with the UFC after
signing a contract extension. The 32-year-old Genesis Training
Center product is scheduled to lock horns with Chandler at UFC 268
on Nov. 11, while Poirier seems destined to challenge Oliveira for
lightweight gold in the future.
“I was probably more bitter at the opportunity that he (Chandler)
got in favor of me,” Gaethje told ESPN. “I was pissed off at
the time. I thought this was the most coveted title in the UFC when
Khabib was around, and it was turned into almost the laughing stock
of the UFC overnight.
“When you had Charles
Oliveira and Michael
Chandler fighting each other for the title to be the best, when
those two weren’t the best guys fighting for the belt. It was me
and [Dustin] Poirier, is who should be have been fighting for the
belt, No. 1, No. 2. That’s what should’ve happened.”
Gaethje still isn’t convinced that Oliveira is the top lightweight
in the promotion, either. If he can get past Poirier, then he’ll be
a believer.
“As soon as Poirier fights Oliveira, if Oliveira beats him and
really solidifies himself as the best – right now he’s not the
best,” Gaethje said. “Right now he still has some quit in him, and
he hasn’t been tested by the best guys. I think Chandler did do
that, but it’s a very favorable matchup for Oliveira, so we’ll see.
We’ll see how he handles Poirier. I can’t give him credit now, but
if he goes out there and beats Poirier, I have no other choice but
to give him the respect he deserves.”